Analects of Joseph Zwilling: On Proceeds of the sale of 1011 First Avenue

A piece in Catholic Review (New York Archdiocese sells office headquarters for reported $100 million) quotes Joseph Zwilling as saying, via email,  "proceeds of this sale will be used to ease the financial burden caused by the sexual abuse crisis."

A step in the right direction.  Maybe Mr. Zwilling will start attributing church closings to the root cause as well.  Poor attendance and a shortage of priests may be true, but not necessarily causal.

Lithuanian Monsignor to Be Created a Cardinal at December Consistory

 

Read Monsignor Rolanda Makrickas' Wikipedia bio.  Oh, and the other 20: The Deacon's Bench: Pope Francis Names 21 New Cardinals

RIP Stasys K. Janusas

Today I was informed of the passing of Stasys "Stan" Janusas, son of Our Lady of Vilnius stalwarts Grazina and Saulius Janusas.  Visitation will be held tomorrow and the service on Saturday.  Full information and obituary is available on the Whitting Funeral Home site:  Stasys K. Janusas, September 27, 2024

Father Eugene, though retired and unassigned, wants to remind everyone that he says Mass daily, that he prays for us and that he will say Mass for Stasys and his father, Saulius, who is suffering from ill health.

Though we have lost touch with each other after the Our Lady of Vilnius diaspora, we hold each other in memory and prayer.

Save St. Margaret Mary's Church (?)

The case of St. Margaret Mary Church came to my Facebook feed via a post from a nursing school classmate.  According to St. Margaret Mary R.C. Church to close, an SI live item dated 10/10/2020, Pastor Joseph M. McLafferty announced that  Masses at St. Margaret Mary would cease due to the pandemic and "other factors."

On May 10, 2023,  the Archdiocese of New York issued a Decree of Relegation, which means that the church will be deconsecrated and, most likely, sold. 

A movement to make the church a New York City Landmark has been started, along with a Change.org petition to support it:Save St. Margaret Mary's Church: Petition for Landmark Status from New York City

The church of St. Margaret Mary is located at 560 Lincoln Ave, Staten Island, NY 10306.

"Resale value of churches played a role in Buffalo Diocese closures" - Duh.

From the courtroom:

Q:  “The suggestion is that the parishes being closed were selected based on which ones had the potential for sale,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carl Bucki said to diocesan attorney Stephen A. Donato. “I want to know if that’s true.”

A:  "Donato said, “I think that was a factor, but not a driving factor.”

Modified and equivocal, but can the truth be emerging from the gaslight into the light of day?

Resale value of churches played a role in Buffalo Diocese closures

An Update from Cardinal Dolan - Hunker down for more closing and selling

 This letter was disseminated via Flocknote to parishioners in the Archdiocese of New York.  After decades of denying or minimizing cases of abuse, of closing parishes and schools and of selling churches to developers, the Cardinal finally tells us that the archdiocese needs money...and why.

Dear Family of the Archdiocese of New York, 

Recently, I met with all the priests of the Archdiocese of New York to update them on our continuing response to the abuse crisis. It’s part of the pledge we made to you, God’s people, to make certain that we are living up to the safe environment policies and practices that we put in place over 20 years ago. It is important that I let you know as well how we are doing, as we also pledged to keep you posted.

While even our enemies -- and their name is legion -- seem to admire and credit our archdiocese in serving all New Yorkers with exemplary reform and progress in this area of protecting our young people, we can never become complacent. Our annual audits by outside agencies, including our regular ones by the universally respected federal Judge Barbara Jones, assure us we’re keeping our promises. It is only right that we continue the essential, sensitive attention to victims and their families, and our scrupulous attention to the promises we’ve made to God’s people to provide a safe environment for their children. 

Our vigilance extends as well to ensuring a safe environment for vulnerable adults and in the workplace. Our session rightfully recognized that this is now all fairly considered a big part of the “safe environment” we wish to nurture.

 

I am proud that our bishops, priests, and lay staff all approached the sessions with great seriousness and sensitivity. They continue, as I do, to know that we can never relax in our efforts to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all.

I also raise another issue that was discussed at our gathering that has serious implications for the future of the Church here in New York. 

You all know, I am sure, of the Child Victims Act (CVA), passed by the New York State Legislature and signed into law in 2019.

We have worked hard to settle meritorious cases not covered by insurance, in justice to the victims of years past. We settled over 400 hundred cases through our Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) and 123 more in response to the CVA. 

There remains about 1400 cases of alleged abuse, some dating back to World War II! To be clear, not all of these allegations are against priests. In fact, the two largest groups of complaints are against a former volunteer basketball coach and a former janitor.  

It has always been our wish to expeditiously settle all meritorious claims. However, Chubb, for decades our primary insurance company, even though we have paid them over $2 billion in premium by today’s standards, is now attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation to settle covered claims which would bring peace and healing to victim-survivors. As a result we have sued them for violating New York’s General Business Law which protects New York consumers from deceptive and fraudulent business practices.

In legal documents, Chubb has abandoned its archdiocese and parish policy holders and those people such policies were purchased to protect, the survivors of child sexual abuse. Chubb scurrilously claims that they are not obligated to settle claims because the abuse of victims was “expected or intended” by the Church. You read that right. They make the false argument that people like my beloved predecessors Cardinal Terence Cooke or Cardinal John O’Connor took actions with the intent of harming children, or at least expecting that would be the case. Outrageous!  

Why would they make such an egregiously false claim? Easy. To protect their bottom line – one that currently brings in $2 billion per quarter. Their apparent plan, which other Chubb insured have fallen victim to – see the bankrupted Archdiocese of San Francisco, for instance -- is designed to delay, delay, and further delay, hoping to force the archdiocese to pay the claims Chubb is legally responsible for paying but has refused to pay. A sad story!

In the long run, all these cases are a towering expense for us. 

As we diligently continue to shepherd the pastoral life of the archdiocese, we have taken dramatic steps to do more with less, by cutting costs but preserving our faith mission. We will be moving into new smaller offices next year, substantially reducing the cost of our office space, and putting our current archdiocesan headquarters on First Avenue on the market; the proceeds of that eventual sale will be used to ease the financial burden caused by the sexual abuse crisis. Other properties are carefully being considered for sale as well. Our future financial strength will require even more strategy and sacrifice and even more help from the archdiocese and more help from our parishes and people. 

Be assured, however, that we can’t and won’t let this destroy us. Our clergy and I remain inspired by and grateful for your generosity. The Cardinal’s Annual Stewardship Appeal, for instance -- half of which, as you know, is returned to our struggling parishes -- is again on target to reach and go over its goal. But, even more profoundly, we have the promise of Jesus that He is with us always, and that the “gates of hell” will not destroy us, even though they sure keep trying! That’s an insurance policy, His Word, that will never fail to pay claims!

We may be reduced to the frustrated reply and extended hand of Peter in the Temple Square to the disabled beggar asking for alms, “Silver and Gold I do not have. But, what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk!” And he did. 

Cower and hide we will not! Fear we will not! We will stand and walk together through this, as we all did twenty-three years ago after 9/11, as we continue our resolve to compensate and reconcile with survivors, and as we ministered throughout the darkness of COVID. This challenge will strengthen our resolve to rely confidently upon the infinite power of the holy name of Jesus. With Him, nothing is impossible! Without Him, nothing is possible!

Be assured of a remembrance in my Masses and prayers each day.

A blessed autumn!

With prayerful best wishes, I am,

Faithfully in Christ,

+ Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan

Archbishop of New York

Inspiration: OMG - Candelita Jose Iglesias (It's helping the Mets!)

 

Students create petition to save St. Barnabas High School following announcement of sudden closure

Students that were blindsided by 11th hour announcement of school closing are women of action.

Read all about it on Channel 12 Westchester: Students create petition to save St. Barnabas High School following announcement of sudden closure

Please sign petition here: RE-OPEN SAINT BARNABAS HIGH SCHOOL!

CHANNEL 12!  Doesn't this story cry out for more than 36 seconds of video?

St. Veronica's ?: This one is new to me!

I found this ad in the VillageView, June 2024 edition.  I will update with the full narrative once I find it.

JUNE 7-HOLD THE DATE 

FOR A RARE CHANCE TO VISIT THE INTERIOR OF ST. VERONICA'S 

The Save St. Veronica’s Committee wants local residents to know that after the Vatican reversed the NY Archdiocese closure of this church as unjust and ordered it re-sanctified, the acting pastor and the Archdiocese representative have not responded to our requests for the mandated masses on June 7 and July 12, and are not opening regularly for silent prayer. 

WE ASK THAT THE PUBLIC VOICE THEIR DESIRE FOR THE DOORS OF ST. VERONICA'S TO REOPEN!! CONTACT THE CHURCH REPS: 

Fr Ledezma, Pastor, jesusillo_ledezma@hotmail.com 212-243-0265 

Eileen Mulcahy, Archdiocese, eileen.mulcahy@archny.org 212-371-1000 

Any questions from the public may be sent to save.our.st.v@gmail.com 

The story of St. Veronica's church in the West Village, up to May 26, 2021: St. Veronica’s Church saved — for now

A Message from Grupo Immaculate Conception St. Mary's Facebook Group

 Immaculate Conception / St. Mary's Church

Author

We would like to thank Most Reverend Bishop Joseph Espaillat for visiting us tonight and for your sermon. We would also like to thank Most Reverend Bishop Edmund Whalen for visiting us two weeks in a row. We appreciate your support. We will keep our faith strong and never give up. Next week on Sunday, July 7 we look forward to our whole parish both English and Spanish speaking Parishoners to celebrate Mass at 10 AM.

Gracias al Reverendísimo Obispo Joseph Espaillat por visitarnos esta noche y por su sermón. También gracias al Reverendísimo Obispo Edmund Whalen por visitarnos dos semanas seguidas. Agradecemos su apoyo. Mantendremos nuestra fe fuerte y nunca nos rendiremos. La próxima semana, en domingo, el 7 de julio, esperamos que toda nuestra parroquia, tanto los feligrés que hablan ingles y español, celebren la Misa a las 10 de la mañana.

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Larry "Ratso" Sloman: The Missing Link

I never thought much about the real "New York Ratso".  In the back of my mind I knew he was a real person, but he was most vivid to me as one of Kinky Friedman's Vandam Street Irregulars, a guy who kibitzed with Kinky while dining on "pawk" at Big Wong's.

Today I was under the weather and turned to my underused Netflix subscription to watch Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song.  And lo!  There was Ratso, dressed very much as Kinky described him sharing very incisive and insightful reminiscences about Leonard Cohen and his music.

After immersing myself in Kinky Friedman's mystery novels as anodyne for my homesickness for OLV and its vanishing neighborhood, I reflected on how often Kinky mentioned Jesus, sometimes as blasphemy and sometimes in biblical reflection.  I thought that Leonard Cohen ambitiously scaled the slope to the sublime and that Kinky Friedman stumbled up the other face of that peak, the one with the trail marked "Ridiculous."  Well, I don't know if they met in real life.  If they did I have no idea whether they liked each other or not.  At any rate, Leonard and Kinky are now brothers in song at the summit.  Larry "Ratso" Sloman spent considerable time with both and still walks this earth.  That is a comfort to me.

Yeah!  Sometimes I take a break from trying to hold on to churches and parishes.